Friday, June 10, 2016

Phase III of "Decatur Crossing": negotiation summary

On May 19, 2016, the Board of
Commissioners (BOC) approved Fuqua Development’s “Decatur Crossing” Phase III to
redevelop the 9.2-acre, abandoned Ford dealership (which primarily fronts Scott
Boulevard with a small frontage on Church Street) into a mixed-use
development. The plan was presented to
the Community in January and is outlined here. Following
the community meeting, the DeKalb Cross Neighborhoods Council (DCNC)* compiled and considered all feedback received
from the community and provided that feedback to Fuqua Development. This feedback was the basis of our
negotiations which took place over several months. The BOC voted in favor of the rezoning
request with 34 conditions negotiated by the DCNC. These conditions will become part of the
permanent zoning for the property.

In addition to the conditions, the DCNC also negotiated a separate, legally binding zoning agreement which includes $60,000 in funding
for off site improvements. Combined with earlier contributions from
Phases I and II, this amount will be enough to complete pedestrian
improvements at the 6-way intersection, sidewalks on Scott Boulevard (between
Willow Lane and Medlock Road) and a short multi-use sidewalk on N. Decatur Road
(between Fuqua Phase II and Church Street – in front of Church’s Chicken). It also includes safety improvements along
Scott Boulevard at the Tuxworth Springs Condominiums entrance/exit. The legally
binding agreement was signed by MANA with the support of the entire DCNC.

The site plan includes a “specialty grocery store,” a senior
housing development (minimum of 90 units), a “chicken themed” restaurant with a
drive-thru, a multi-family apartment building (maximum of 262 units) and a
storage facility. Fifteen percent of the
apartments will be reserved as workforce housing** as negotiated in our
contract. The development also includes
tree-lined 10-foot-wide multi-use sidewalks around the entire perimeter to
match the earlier phases, 6-foot sidewalks on the interior of the development
as well as a minimum of 16,300 square feet of park space. We also negotiated a bike lane on the small
emergency access road that runs between Scott Boulevard and Church Street.

Elevations for grocery store (seen from Scott Blvd.)

Elevations for "chicken-themed restaurant with drive-through"

Elevations for apartment complex.

Storage facility.

Storage facility

Senior living complex by Columbia Residential. For an earlier color version of this rendering *that does not include newly negotiated improvements such as balconies*, click here.

The DCNC is particularly excited about the senior housing
component which will be built and managed by Columbia Residential. The DCNC hosted a community meeting with Columbia Residentialin April to provide information and answer questions from
the community. The Medline
Study identified senior housing as a priority for our area. The DCNC has been
asking Fuqua Development to include this component since Phase I. Now that the
rezoning is complete, Columbia Residential will go through the arduous process
of applying for funding. They believe
their application will rate very high and are confident that they will be
awarded the low income tax credits needed to complete this project. Because we believe in this project, the DCNC
negotiated conditions allowing Columbia two full application cycles to secure
funding. We were able to work with Columbia to add more amenities for their
residents, such as balconies and stoops to the building. This is a testament to how a collaborative process, bringing together multiple parties, improves the redevelopment process (see these messages from the developer and from Davis Fox at Commissioner Gannon's office).

** Workforce housing as defined by the Urban Land Institute
was used for this agreement. The
intention is people working in such professions as teachers, nurse, fire
fighters could afford to rent these apartments.